Audi celebrates 75 years since its first crash test

Audi is celebrating today the 75 years since its first crash test, carried out in Potsdam on 24 December 1938. On that occasion, the emerging brand with the four rings used a DKW F7 that was rolled over by a ramp after being sent down a hill. The aim was to demonstrate that both the engine and the body of the car were safe, which proved to be true: the small saloon completed the test with minimal body damage and its engine still running.

This test carried out 75 years ago marked the beginning of safety studies for the following generations of cars built by Audi and other brands. As a result, subsequent models gained a reputation for being the safest in Europe. In 1958, an NSU Prinz was able to absorb part of the energy of a frontal collision.

The development of better chassis and bodies capable of protecting their occupants continued in the following years. When the Audi 100 was launched, the brand was already using dummies to simulate the injuries an accident would cause to a human body. In 1970, the first crash test laboratory was opened in Ingolstadt.

In 1986, the German brand introduced a steering column displacement system and front seatbelt pretensioners in the event of an accident, called Procon-ten. With this system, the force of the engine itself was used as it was displaced by the impact, assisted by a system of steel cables and pulleys.

Audi was not the first brand to begin researching crash tests and to open a dedicated division to study them. In 1934 GM carried out its first crash test, which appears to be the world’s first impact test.

Source | Audi